LET’S TALK ABOUT SAPPHIRES:

Sapphires tend to have a reputation of being a traditional royal blue gemstone used in classic or historic fine jewellery – however this is really not the case.

Sapphires come in an incredible and vast array of colors, hues and tones and are ranked almost as high on the Moh’s Hardness Scale as diamonds are. They make an excellent gemstone to use in fine jewellery due to their durability and lustrous appearance. They have been sought after for centuries and have been used within royal jewellery collections across the world. Sapphires can be commonly found across the world from regions such as Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Thailand, China, among other places.

These unique stones come in every tone and color known, and unknown, to man. Once polished and cut, they become a truly one-of-a-kind, alluring stone that is ready to be added to a gorgeous design.

Here is a quick blog post on what to look for when buying sapphires! Find and download the full booklet here.

COLOR, COLOR, COLOR!

Color is one of the most important aspects when it comes to choosing the sapphire that is right for you.

What some people don’t realize is, sapphires come in all the colors of the rainbow – not just blue.

All natural sapphires are truly incredible, as their colors naturally occur through the work of mother nature. A stone’s color is determined by the specific chemical makeup through the presenceof different trace elements, such as titanium or chronium.

The amazing thing about sapphires is that you will able to find any color with any specific shade, hue or tone that you are looking for!

CLARITY

A sapphire’s clarity grade refers to the relative absence of inclusions, fractures, and blemishes that affect its appearance and structural integrity.

These are things that are stuck inside the sapphire and cause some sort of blemish to the look of the stone.

Sapphires almost always have some sort of inclusion in them. Sometime these can be unseen to the naked eye and other times it can be easily visible without a magnifine glass.

When buying a sapphire you should try and look for something that has a good clarity grade, as well as being visually appealing to your own eye.

CUT

Cut is the next important thing to look for when buying a sapphire.

The cut is what allows the brilliance and beauty to pour through in a stone. It is important to view your sapphire in the light to see the varying facets and the symmetry with which it has been cut.

Gem cutters have an incredible way of creating facets and surfaces that optimise the quality of light that passes through each gemstone into your eyes.

There are many different cuts and shapes that sapphires come in. When buying your sapphire you should choose the cut that resonates best with you.

A sapphire’s cut truly comes down to what you like aesthetically. However, you should look for a cut that has precision, symmetry and quality in mind. The better the quality of cut, the brighter and sparklier the stone.

CARAT

The size of a gemstone is generally measured by weight in the metric known as carats. A sapphire and a diamond’s weight are measured in the same way.

Traditionally, when purchasing a loose gem, the cost is given as a per-carat price and as the weight of a carat increases, so does the cost.

When purchasing a sapphire, it is important to figure out what size you are looking for.

Milestone weights, such as .25ct, .50ct, 1ct, etc, are the most popular sizes of stones.

When buying a sapphire, carat weight is important to think about because this will determine the size and price of the stone. Keep not only your aesthetic in mind, but also your budget.

TREATMENTS

Treatments are used within the gemstone industry to change a specific trait of a stone.

Heat treaments are one of the most common treatments. This alters the appearance of a sapphire’s color and quality. It removes inclusions and im- proves a sapphire’s hue and saturation. This affects a sapphire’s color grade, which could be considered one specific grade before treatment, but can jump up to a higher grade afterward.

An unheated sapphire is simply a sapphire that has not undergone this heat treatment, meaning the color and quality is of untreated origin.

Other treatments include latice diffusion, which also artificially changes a stone’s color.

A vast majority of the stones from Anpé Atelier are unheated and professional certificate is always provided which gives information on what exactly has or has not been done to the gemstone.

Overall, finding a sapphire that is treated or untreated is entirely up to you! It depends on whether you prefer to have a completely untreated stone or not. Either way, you are sure to end up with an incredibly beautiful sapphire.